A Family of Three
by journalistgf
Summary: After a particularly stressful mission, Barry finds a new method of falling asleep.


Iris woke up with a start, cold sweat glistening on her skin and her alarm blaring. She groaned as she turned her head to check the time, shifting from being laid down to sitting upright. _6:30,_ the clock flashed angrily.

 _Oh my god, why?_ Iris said to herself.

She could barely fall asleep that night, tossing and turning, worrying about the progress of her new story. The witness she was planning on getting a statement from bailed on her last minute, leaving her to scavenge for another one. On top of that, she hasn't seen Barry ever since he was called away for a mission in Star City.

She sighed and buried her head in her hands, unfolding her legs and stretching them out, toes pointing upwards. For a moment, she contemplated crawling back into bed and sleeping away her responsibilities, but alas, duty called. She tentatively rolled out of bed, slid on some slippers and a robe, and trudged her way to the kitchen.

 _I really need some fucking coffee,_ Iris thought irritably, _I cannot function like this._

Halfway between her journey from her bed to the coffee machine, however, she caught an eye of something on the floor, the sofa obscuring her view. _Feet._

"Barry!" Iris exclaimed, frantically turning on the lights and making her way to her boyfriend's motionless body.

She doesn't know what exactly she was expecting. She was half convinced that she was going to find Barry bloodied and broken on the floor of their new home, but nothing prepared her for the sight laid out in front of her, literally.

Barry quietly unlocked the door to his apartment and crept into the living room. He'd finally managed to capture a vengeful metahuman terrorizing the population of Star City, but not without his fair share of bruises and broken bones. Wincing, he plopped down on the sofa and removed his gloves. He glanced upwards, staring directly at the clock above the TV. _3:20._ Barry let out a deep exhale and deflated, sinking into the softness of the couch.

The past few weeks had been particularly stressful for the scarlet speedster. Between mentoring Wally and fighting criminals, both metahuman and not, he rarely found the time to properly sit down and spend time with Iris. With her imminent death hanging over all of their shoulders, he'd made a personal vow to make sure every moment with her counted just in case the worst happened. Unfortunately, his plans of spending the night with Iris were brutally cut short, as he arrived only mere hours before she had to wake up for work.

He balanced his elbows on his knees and sunk his face into his hands, gently rubbing the exhaustion away from his eyes. His lids were heavy and his body was screaming _sleep_ but he couldn't muster up the will to go to bed. Sliding his hands slowly down his face, he bounced up from his seat and paced across the room.

 _Maybe this will help me go to sleep._ Barry thought to himself, _Hopefully._

Unfortunately, he was still pacing the room an hour later, a rushed and irritated pace quickly replacing his slow, deliberate one. He looked around in a hopeless daze, seriously contemplating knocking himself out in an attempt to rest his battered body. All of a sudden, something moved in his peripheral vision, causing him to whip around at a dizzying speed. Barry's panic quickly dissolved into relief when he realized that the moving figure was none other than their pet turtle, McSnurtle. The small reptile had risen from his slumber and began to shuffle within his bowl, occasionally lifting his head to take in the surroundings.

Barry tiptoed over to the side table in which McSnurtle's bowl was placed and bend down to make eye contact with him. The reptile bumped his head lightly against the glass as if to say _"Hey, get me out of here!"_ Obediently, Barry reached inside of the bowl and carefully removed the turtle, cradling him with both hands and keeping him close to his chest. McSnurtle eagerly wiggled in his palms, eliciting a soft chuckle from Barry.

"Getting ahead of yourself there, huh buddy?" Barry questioned with a grin.

After moving the table slightly forward to open up some more space, Barry sat cross-legged on the floor and placed McSnurtle in front of him. Stroking his shell tenderly, he laid his right arm on the corner of the couch and rested his head against it. The living room was dark, with an occasional shadow creeping its way across the floor when the lights from outside passed through the thin curtains. Barry reveled in the peaceful ambiance of the space around him, the quiet calming his nerves.

 _I could get used to this,_ Barry thought fondly.

He lazily tilted his head downwards to glance at McSnurtle again, who was happily scooting around the carpet, clearly overjoyed that he was freed from his glass prison. Barry lightly scooped him up and placed him on his right knee, tracing the outline of his shell with his index finger. McSnurtle began to sluggishly make his way up Barry's leg, occasionally pausing whenever he adjusted his seated position on the floor.

In an attempt to make himself more comfortable, he abandoned his attempt at sitting upright and spread himself out across the floor, his right leg crossing over his left at the ankles and his arms tucked behind his head. Barry stared fondly at McSnurtle, who was now at his hip, and let out a contented sigh. His eyes fluttered closed as his breathing steadied, his lips curling up in a slight smile.

Life is good, Barry thought before he drifted off into a blissful sleep.

Reality would catch up to him in a flash, or at least two hours later.

Iris stared at the sleeping figure of her adorable boyfriend, torn between wanting to giggle at his peaceful state and scolding him for scaring her. She watched as his chest rose and fell ever so slightly, McSnurtle happily curled right underneath his right collarbone.

She sighed and shook her head, grin wide on her face. After a few moments of deliberation, she carefully crouched down and shook Barry's arm

"Bear!" she laughed, "Wake up, it's almost time to go to work!"

There were a few seconds of silence before an inevitable groan was vocalized from him.

"...Hi," Barry whispers, his eyes fluttering open.

Iris leaned forward, gently caressing his cheek with her fingers. "Well, you seem rested for a change. What time did you come in last night?"

Barry slowly sat upright, cupping McSnurtle with both hands before he could fall. "Um… three o'clock-ish? I expected the mission to wrap up earlier, but we had some… complications." He grimaced at the memory, much to Iris's notice.

Iris smiled and gently held his face with both hands, brushing her thumb against his cheekbone. "Regardless, they were no match for the Flash." She leaned forward to give him a quick peck on the lips.

Pulling away, she pressed her forehead against his and closed her eyes. If only we could stay like this for a little while longer, she thought.

Her hands crept up his chest and rested at his heart, her fingers buzzing after every badum of his heart beat.

Barry titled his head sideways. "It's still beating," he whispered, sending chills down her spine.

She chuckled slightly. "I know." She buried her face into the crook of his neck, breathing in what faintly smelled like burning rubber with a dash of his father's cologne. She pressed a light kiss against his neck and hummed softly, seriously contemplating taking a day off of work to stay like this forever.

All of a sudden, she felt a slight tugging sensation on her stomach, breaking her lovesick train of thought. Confused, she pulled away and looked down, only to see McSnurtle eagerly biting her robe.

"Aw, looks like he wants to play with you, too," Barry said, laughing.

Iris smirked, "Well, I suppose I could play with him for a few minutes… Besides, I haven't seen you for a whole two days. We've got some time to make up for."

Barry smirked suggestively, beet red. "Miss West, are you coming onto me?" He ghosted his hands up her sides, causing her breath to hitch.

"Depends on what you want to do, _Flash_ ," Iris said, her voice coming out more breathless than she intended.

Barry brushed his lips against hers, his hands sliding down to her thigh when -

"Ouch!"

Barry retracted his hand, angry bite marks visible on his middle finger.

"I think this is a hint that McSnurtle is serious about us spending time with him," Iris giggled, gently rubbing Barry's wound.

Barry laughed. "Let's take the hint before he decides to bite me harder." He brings his finger to his face and pouts, puppy-dog eyes and all.

Iris presses a quick kiss to Barry's cheek before picking up McSnurtle and placing him on her leg. Stroking his shell gingerly, she stole a quick glance at Barry, who was cooing and baby-talking the minute reptile.

 _Screw work,_ she thought fondly, _there's no place I'd rather be than here._


End file.
